Talent Abounds: 7.25 – 7.31

Alma Andina, appearing at the Cedar

This week’s music offerings once again include jazz from emerging talents on summer vacation from college, as well as some intriguing presentations from jazz veterans. We also have some visiting artists presenting world music, a couple of rockers, and two veteran soul men to touch our emotions and shake our hips. Music lifts the Spirit.

Jazz

Wednesday, July 5

Will Kjeer Trio @ Vieux Carre, Saint Paul 8pm ($6) Pianist Will Kjeer is making the most of his summer vacation, playing around town in various groups including Hoaxer, which he co-founded, and Group 47, as well as leading his own trio, as he does tonight, with Charlie Lincoln, bass; and Ben Erlich, drums.

Maud Hixson & Rick Carlson: Skyscaper Wits @ Crooners’ Dunsmore Room, Fridley. 7:30pm ($15) The warm, intimate vocals of Ms Hixson and the ever-tasteful piano stylings of Rick Carlson combine to bring us the wittiest writers of the Great American Songbook: Lorenz Hart; Dorothy Fields; Noel Coward; Betty Comden and Adolph Green; Cole Porter; and others. They’ve performed this program in London, Manhattan, and Portland, OR, and now we get to hear it.

Chrisette Bany @ Jazz Central, Minneapolis.8pm ($10) Back when Crooners had open jam sessions, vocalist Bany’s appearance at the mic caused Larry Dunsmore, the late co-founder of the club to declare, “Discovering your talent is rather akin to seeing a new comet for the first time.”

Saturday Night Jazz @ The Black Dog, Saint Paul, MN. (Tip Jar) Opening at 7pm: The Joan Hutton Trio with Matt Peterson on bass. Hutton plays sax and clarinet, and is a member of the Ancia Quartetas well as an educator and composer. At 8:30, The Aaron Hedenstrom Big Band, 16 pieces strong, featuring a strong generational cross-section of resident musicians.

Katia Cardenas Video Release @ The Icehouse, Minneapolis. 7pm – 8:30pm ($8 Advance/$10 Door) Vocalist Katia Cardenas grew up in a musical family and learned to integrate both jazz and R&B in her performances. Tonight she’s celebrating the release of her music video for There Will Never Be Another You, the Harry Warrner song that’s a staple of her repertoire. Besides showing the video, she’ll be performing with her finely tuned, stellar band: Ted Godbout, piano; Graydon Peterson, bass; and Beth Varela, drums, as well as backing vocalists Sheridan Zuther and Andrina Brogden.

For more listings, KBEM provides a calendar of jazz and roots music. For further commentary on Twin Cities jazz, check out the blogs, Jazz Police and Bebopified.

Blues, Roots, Other…

Wednesday, July 25

Kashimana @ The Landmark Center, Saint Paul. Noon – 1pm (Free) Singer/songwriter Kashimana was born in Nigeria and moved to Kenya with her family when she was 8, where she lived until coming to the Twin Cities to go to college. She has a warm presence and sings catchy, simple songs in a soulful voice.

Medicinal Purposes on the House Party (KFAI, 90,3FM) and @ The 331 Club, Minneapolis. 5pm (KFAI), 7pm (331 Club, Tip Jar) This Iowa Duo knows that music heals. Cowgirl Pearl Breitbach and Scott Kerry Guthrie have each been in many other groups, but now they create originals as well as original arrangements. Of course, you can listen to them before deciding whether to attend their performance at the 331 Club.

Thursday, July 26

Lee Fields & The Expressions @ The Amsterdam Bar & Hall, Saint Paul. 7pm Doors. ($20 Advance/$25 Door) This is the Under-The-Radar gig of the week, since original soul man Fields has received minimal airplay here in town. Fields has been plying his craft since 1969, touring with folks like Kool & the Gang, OV Wright, and Darrell Banks, as well as releasing dozens of singles, and most recently, a quartet of albums that have taken him and The Expressions to sold-out shows around the world. Between Fields’s sandpapery-yet tender voice, and the Expressions tight musicianship, you get a sound that encompasses the music of Sax, Fame, Motown, and Atlantic Records, yet copies none of them.

Friday, July 27

Johnny Rey & The Reaction CD Release @ The Hook& Ladder, Minneapolis.7:30pm ($8 Advance/$12 Door) As a founding member of Flamingo, which became the Flamin’ Oh’s, Rey has been a fixture of the Twin Cities rock scene for four decades. He’s got a new CD, “Modern Age,” and is celebrating its release tonight, with guests Little Man, and The Carnegies.

Alma Andina Album Release @ The Cedar Cultural Center, Minneapolis. 8pm ($13 Advance, $15 Door) As ten-year veterans of the area’s music scene, Alma Andina’s members come from throughout Latin America. They play a variety of Latin dance music, as well as modern Andean music using pan flutes and other traditional instruments. They’re releasing a new album tonight, and will be joined by Los Rolling Ruanasof Bogota, Columbia, whose intriguing goal is to put rural back in rock n’ roll.

Saturday, July 28

Rich Mattson & the Northstars @ The Hook & Ladder, Minneapolis. 8pm ($8 Advance, $10 Door) Singer, songwriter, and guitarist Rich Mattson is known for his work with the Glenrustles, Ol’ Yeller, and The Tisdales, though nowadays the “human jukebox,” as he’s known, is leading the Northstars. Also on the bill is Superior Siren, an all-female outfit whose eerie folk melodies might tempt sailors on Lake Superior, and Dirty Frames, a three-guitar, rockin’ quintet.

Boom Boom Stevie V & The Knockouts @ The Basement Bar, Minneapolis. 8:30pm – 11pm (No Cover) Master harp slinger Steve Vonderharr and the Knockouts bring the blues to the bar in the basement of NOLO in the North Loop.

Monday, July 30

DakhaBrakha @ The Dakota, Minneapolis. 7pm ($35, $40, $45) This Ukrainian quartet plays world music with many influences, though they might also be characterized as a circus of oddness.

Tuesday, July 31

Femi Kuti & Positive Force @ The Cedar Cultural Center, Minneapolis. 7:30pm ($50 Advance/$55 Door) Sweat-inducing, modern Afrobeat from a son of Fela, the guy who invented the genre.

Willie West @ The Dakota, Minneapolis. 7pm ($15) West has performed with the late-era Meters, and has recorded with Allen Toussaint. Now, he lives here in Minnesota, and we get to hear his sweet, soulful voice.

For a more comprehensive listing of blues (and some roots) events, see the MN Blues Society calendar. For a comprehensive listing of Cajun and Zydeco events, see the Krewe de Walleye calendar.